


Brothers of Gold

by Arytra



Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Power Rangers Time Force
Genre: AU, Fluff, Multi, Surrogate Sibling Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:17:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4450760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a certain event, Wes finds himself as a surrogate older brother to Mack and later Trent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brothers of Gold

Wes Collins was twelve when he met Mack Hartford. The four year old boy had just lost his mother and was trying not to cry at the party they’d both had to attend. He’d seen Mrs. Hartford around before, getting involved in different charities and keep up the face of the Hartford family. While they were extremely well-off, there were some plans that involved business ventures between families and Mrs. Hartford understood that. Mr. Hartford had rarely attended these things, letting his wife to do it, but after her death six months before, he’d been forced into the social role as well. Little Mack was stuck in a situation where he’d have to stay home with a nanny or come as well and Mack didn’t seem to want his dad to leave his sight. Wes could understand the whole thing. He’d been seven when he’d lost his mother and he had thrown a fit every time his dad had to leave for business until after he was eight.

Other than the groups of people trying to get in good with his dad, there were few people who bothered talking to him at the party. He knew how to dodge the parents trying to convince him to marry their daughters in the future at this point. He shivered. He was twelve and while they were sort of subtle about it, they weren’t nearly subtle enough. Besides being gross, he was pretty sure it was outdated. He dodged and weaved his way through the crowds, scooping up some of the most sugary food he could find, before making his way over to Mack. He sat down next to him and handed him the cake. Mack just looked back up at him.

Wes smiled before looking upward a bit. “I lost my mom too.”

Mack just looked at him, looked at the cake, looked at Wes again and tried to force back the tears that were starting to fall. “I want her!”

“I know,” Wes said. “I want mine too.”

Mack’s hands shook and Wes was a little impressed by his ability to catch the falling plate as well as not get knocked over when Mack leapt at him. He set the plate down and wrapped an arm around Mack’s shoulders. It wasn’t like Wes needed an introduction to the kid. Everyone knew who both of them were and right now, Wes didn’t think it mattered to Mack. He just stayed there, silent with the boy until the party ended. The cake was completely forgotten.

***

It was four months before Wes saw Mack again. One of the organizations that both their mothers had been part of was having a fundraiser which neither father was going to ignore. Wes looked around the room as his father went to mingle and finally caught sight of Mack. The boy looked much better and was far more energetic than last time. Still, he wasn’t expecting for Mack to nearly plow him down the moment he saw him. Wes looked at the younger boy in surprise as Mack pulled away, grinning. “Hi! I drew dogs! Wanna see?”

“Uh… okay…” Wes said, trying to figure out what was going on as Mack took his hand and led him back to a table. Mr. Hartford seemed to have learned from the last event that children got bored, or his butler had, and there were some sheets of paper and crayons for Mack this time. Wes swallowed as he remembered that his mom had done the same for him when he was very young, something his father had decided he was too old for once she’d died. He was right since Wes hadn’t really used them in a while, but it hurt that he didn’t have that normalcy. As they headed toward Mack’s table, there were pictures of dogs set aside, though they were wearing the fedora the Hartfords had become known for due to their adventurous natures. Mrs. Hartford had been right at her husband’s side until Mack was born and there were many pictures of them smiling for the camera after some great find. He wondered if Mack had his own little outfit yet. “They’re nice.”

He wasn’t sure what else to say, but that seemed to be all that Mack needed as he told him all about the dogs he’d drawn and the books his dad read to him and how Spencer made him cookies the night before. Wes just sat there and nodded, not sure what else to say but mannered enough to at least put on a show of understanding. He almost missed the child’s final question. “What’s your name?”

Wes tried to hide his surprise. He should have expected it, but he was so used to people just knowing who he was at this point. “Wes.”

“Wes,” Mack said, trying it out. “I’m Mack!”

Wes quickly shoved back the ‘I know’ that came to his lips and instead nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mack.”

He glanced back over at Mr. Hartford, who was nearby, to make sure the man wasn’t angry at him for talking to his son, but the man just looked pensive. After a minute, Andrew Hartford made his way over and Mack held up his pictures. “I’m showing Wes my drawings!”

“That’s very nice of you,” Mr. Hartford said affectionately before turning to Wes. “Are you having a good time?”

Wes had to admit that this party was much better than the others he’d been too. He was less bored at the very least. “More than usual,” he said honestly. Mr. Hartford learned in as if telling Wes a secret.

“These things bore me too,” he said. Wes managed to hide his smile. “I was wondering how you felt about baby-sitting.”

Wes blinked a couple of time. “Huh?”

“I’m gone a lot and Spencer does a good job with Mack, but I’m afraid that he’s not as good with playing with him. He tries but he has a hard time keeping up with Mack. Then there’s all of the other things to be done and I just feel that Mack isn’t getting the social interaction he had when Jenny…” he paused. “When his mother was still with us. He seems to like you.”

“I do!” Mack said, having no idea what the conversation was about, but wanting to be included and put in his two cents. Both Wes and Mr. Hartford smiled at that.

“So, what do you say?” Mr. Hartford asked. “You up for it?”

It was amazing to Wes how the man managed to make everything sound like a challenge.

“You’ve got a deal,” he said, taking the man’s hand and shaking it.

***

Alan Collins hadn’t had a problem with the arrangement. He’d been pushing his son to be more of an adult anyway and this had seemed like a good time to teach the boy about responsibility and the like. So, for several years, Wes played the baby-sitter to the younger boy, enjoying his presence. Wes had always wanted a younger sibling and Mack fit that roll perfectly. When Eric left the school and broke his heart, he’d enjoyed the distraction from the pain. Unfortunately, the eight year old wasn’t stupid.

“You’re upset,” Mack told him. Wes tried to force a smile and Mack shook his head. “You’re also a bad liar.”

“Sorry, Mack. I guess I’m just distracted today,” he admitted. Mack wrapped his arms around Wes’ waist.

“I’m here,” he told him. Wes leaned down and pulled Mack to him.

“You have no idea how much better that makes things for me,” he told him.

“Will you tell me what’s wrong?” Mack asked. Wes paused. Mack knew that Wes was dating Eric, though Wes hadn’t ever introduced them. It just hadn’t happened.

“Eric broke up with me,” he said. “And left the school.”

“Oh,” Mack said and just hugged him. Wes took that in. Mack wasn’t lying to him or trying to tell him that it would get better, but he was there and all Wes had to do was let him in. As the tears he’d been holding in fell down his face, he couldn’t imagine anyone else in his life helping him like Mack and he couldn’t have asked for a better little brother if his parents had given him one. Mack pulled away.

“We can watch what you want today,” he offered. Wes had gotten in the habit a long time ago of letting Mack choose. The look on the boy’s face made it so Wes couldn’t help but to smile in response. It might not have seemed like a lot to other people, but Wes understood the implications of the act.

“Thanks, Buddy,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”

Mack just beamed.

***

When Wes became the Time Force Red Ranger, he did his best to hide it from everyone. Of course, that hadn’t helped when his father found out, but he was still able to hide it from everyone else who might get hurt.

“Wes!” Jen’s voice rang through the tower. He rushed downstairs, worried about why he was needed specifically. She motioned to a kid standing at the counter, arms folded. “He said he knows you.”

“Mack?” Wes asked. “What are you doing here?”

Mack looked at him and dropped his arms, throwing himself at Wes. “I saw the attack on T.V.! The Red Ranger went down.”

“I’m sure he’s okay,” Wes said, looking a bit confused. He hadn’t known that Mack was interested in Power Rangers now. It made sense, he guessed, because of his age yet Mack had just had a passing interest in them. Mack glared at him.

“I know he is now. But he didn’t give me a phone call!” Mack said. The twelve year old looked put out. “I was worried!”

“I think this is a conversation you should have upstairs,” Jen said in a warning voice. Wes wasn’t stupid enough to argue with her and he was incredibly confused at this point. He motioned with his head and Mack quietly followed him upstairs. Mack glanced around at everything before he looked back at Wes. Trip, Katie, and Lucas glanced over, but apparently they could all read the annoyance in Mack’s face and stayed out of it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mack asked. “I thought we told each other everything!”

“Tell you what?” Wes asked. Mack sighed audiably.

“That you’re a Power Ranger, Wes!” He said. Wes ran a hand through his hair and sat down. Mack followed suit.

“How long have you known?” He asked. Mack rolled his eyes.

“Since the first time I saw you on T.V.,” he answered. “You have a distinct fighting style, remember? Besides, I’ve known you since I was four. I asked Spencer to help me get your action figure even.”

“Mack!” Wes said with a groan.

“And a lunch box.”

“Mack…”

“Spencer gave me a weird look until he watched one of the battles and said that we should get all of the merchandise for memory’s sake,” Mack said with a grin. Wes put his head in his hands.

“Spencer knows too?” He groaned. “Does your dad know?”

“He would if he paid attention, but no. He doesn’t,” Mack said. The other three finally looked like they were ready to break in and Mack smiled up at all of them with a wave. “Hey, uh, I’m Mack.”

“Hi, Mack,” Katie said. Wes tried not to groan a third time. Of course his surrogate brother was going to meet the rest of the family. “How do you know Wes?”

“He’s my big brother,” Mack said easily. They all looked over at Wes who held up his hands quickly.

“Surrogate,” he said quickly. Mack shrugged.

“Same thing,” he answered. “I take it you’re the rest of the Time Force Rangers?”

“That’s us!” Katie agreed, having decided that if he already knew and Wes trusted him, then she could trust him too. “I’m Katie. That’s Lucas and this is Trip. You already met Jen, right?”

“The cranky lady downstairs?” Mack asked. “Yep! We met!”

All four of the others had to push back snickers at the description. Wes looked at him. “Mack? How long are you staying?”

“Not long,” he answered. Katie looked a little disappointed and Trip wasn’t too far behind her. “You guys are busy and I need to get home and stuff.”

“You can come back and visit some other time,” Trip offered. Mack grinned.

“I might take you up on that,” he assured him. He looked between them and reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “That has my phone number and stuff on it. If Wes gets hurt or something, can you let me know please?”

“Of course!” Katie said, putting it in her own pocket. Mack didn’t stay much longer than that, heading out and apologizing to Jen for being short with her since he was worried. All of his friends looked at him. Katie was the first to speak up. “You didn’t tell us you had a brother!”

Wes looked more than a little embarrassed and spent the rest of the afternoon fielding questions from the others about it. He sighed and made a note to never try to keep a secret from Mack again because it apparently backfired. A lot.

***

“Wes!” Wes glanced up from his father’s bedside and looked over at Mack as he rushed over. He barely gave the other boy a second glance. He’d probably feel horrible about it later, but right now he wanted to be alone. He felt Mack just sit down next to him, leaning into him a bit. He wanted to shove him off so he could continue to fight back his tears, but he’d never been that sort of person. Mack, to his credit, didn’t ask questions. He just stayed there. Wes finally turned to him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, a little shocked at the hostility in his voice. Mack didn’t seem to notice in the slightest.

“I’m here to help you,” he answered. “You need someone here.”

Wes nodded. There was silence again as Wes realized that Mack really was the only one that he could tell what had happened. “Their original teammate came back,” he explained. “Alex. He… he took the morpher back. He knows the future, Mack. Dad isn’t going to make it.”

Mack was just quiet as Wes talked, not saying anything but just letting him ramble. Wes appreciated it, but it made it more real. He paused before finishing. “I need to run the company.”

“Why?” Mack asked and Wes looked at him strangely. “Why do you have to take it over?”

“It’s my destiny,” Wes answered. Mack was quiet for a minute at that and looked at Mr. Collins lying in the bed. He wasn’t sure how he was going to say what he had to say, but he’d sure give it a shot.

“Maybe your dad would understand if you don’t want to,” he offered. Wes glanced up at him. “Why do you have to do something you hate? I don’t understand! You were happy! You should do things that make you happy.”

Wes sighed. “Sometimes, that’s not how things work,” he said. “We just have to do things because it’s the right thing to do even if it’s not what we want to do.”

“So how do you know this is the right thing to do?” Mack asked. Wes didn’t have an answer and Mack wasn’t about to repeat the question. Instead, he just leaned in and let Wes have his company while he stayed at Alan’s side. Later, everything became chaotic, but he knew that Wes was the red Ranger again. He wasn’t surprised when he got a couple of used books of his favorite series and a note that said “Thank you.” He just knew that Wes was too busy with Rangering to come thank him with a hug. He would get it later.

***

Mack waited until after his friends left. Wes wasn’t sure why. They’d enjoyed meeting him and he understood that Katie and Trip enjoyed calling him often enough, but for some reason, he’d refused to come. Instead, he’d waited until they were gone to come check on him. Wes turned and looked at him. “You’re not mad at them, are you?”

Mack looked at him. “Should I be? Did they really leave you during the fight?” He asked and Wes shook his head.

“No. I sent them back,” he admitted. Mack looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“That was stupid. You needed their help!” Mack said and Wes sighed, unsure as to how to help Mack understand why he’d done what he’d done. If he managed to, he should probably explain it that way to everyone else as well considering that no one understood why he had risked his life like that.

“I was told that if they stayed, they’d die too,” he answered. “If I sent them back, at least I’d die alone.”

“You’re not dead,” he told him and Wes looked a little sheepish.

“I wasn’t expecting Eric,” he admitted.

“No one expects Eric,” Mack said. “So, he was with you then, but he got hurt…”

“And then they came back,” Wes said.

“You’re not all dead.”

“I know.”

“So it was stupid to send them back when you’re all alive now,” Mack said. “Because things changed. Just like last time.”

“Last time, Alex decided to save Dad,” he said. “It’s not the same thing.”

Mack was quiet for a minute and Wes was hoping he understood. “Yes it is.” Or he didn’t understand at all. “Just one thing can change the future, right? Like Eric helping or Alex saving your dad. That changed a lot,” he said. “So, maybe the future isn’t black and white.”

Wes was silent, but he managed a small nod of agreement. He wasn’t exactly sure if he completely agreed with Mack, but he could see that the kid had a point whether he liked it or not. “Maybe I shouldn’t have sent them back,” he said. “But maybe it’ll make more sense to you someday.”

“Maybe,” Mack said with a shrug and Wes nodded. Mack was still twelve after all and Wes didn’t really want him to grow up any quicker than that.

***

“We need to take him in,” Mack said, folding his arms. Wes sighed, trying to run through all of the arguments he’d already thrown down. Eric’s snickering wasn’t helping.

“I’m a co-commander of the Silver Guardians and still a Ranger. You’re in school all of the time and it’s not the school this kid is going to,” Wes tried to argue. “This isn’t like when we were younger. I’m not saying we shouldn’t introduce ourselves, but when was the last time either of us really had to go to one of those stupid functions anyway?”

“He just got adopted, he’s probably lonely and he _does_ have to go to the functions,” Mack argued. “So, we need to be there too.”

“Stop laughing,” Wes hissed at Eric who snickered even harder. 

“Come on, Wes!” Mack pleaded. “You know we need to! Please?”

Wes really didn’t want to whine that he just hated going because with Mack’s logic, it really did seem petty. That said, that didn’t mean that he really wanted to go either. He couldn’t make Eric go because neither controlled the other and Mack had been there for him a lot recently so doing this one little thing really wasn’t that much. He sighed.

“Fine,” he agreed and Mack cheered.

“I’ll find a way to get a hold of him,” he said, rushing off. Wes hit Eric in the shoulder once he’d left.

“You could have helped.”

“Not on your life.”

***

Ten minutes in, Wes remembered why he hated these things so much. This time he had no pressure from his dad, though he could tell that he was amused that Wes was coming after all the protests he’d had over the years, but the people there were paying closer attention to him. He knew that even though his father had insisted that there was no bad blood between them, it was like the prodigal son coming home and he hated it.

Still, seeing Mack waving at him next to a very uneasy, slightly older boy did make him push past his hatred for being there. Mack grinned. “Meet Trent,” he said cheerfully. “Dr. Mercer just adopted him.”

“Nice to meet you, Trent,” Wes said. “I’m Wes.”

“Wes Collins?” He asked, looking a little panicky.

He nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Breathe.”

Trent nodded and tried to calm down. Wes couldn’t blame him. Mack and he were born into this world, but this teen was pushed into it and he saw some of the looks Trent was getting. Mack did too and was glaring until Wes pulled him into a half hug. “So, Trent,” Wes continued, trying to distract them both as well as get to know Trent. “How long have you been living with Dr. Mercer?”

“Dad adopted me three months ago,” he answered quietly. “We’ve never been to one of these before. He was usually too busy.”

Wes nodded. “Well, just stay by us,” he said.

“Right,” Mack said. “We’ll take care of you.”

“Mack,” Wes hissed. “Stop glaring at all of them.”

“They’re being jerks,” Mack informed him. Wes rolled his eyes.

“They are jerks,” he answered. “But you’re not making it better.”

He heard a noise from behind him and looked to see Trent doing his best not to laugh. He wanted to be insulted, but he couldn’t. The look of amusement on the kid’s face made it all worth it. He reached over and pulled him in a hug on his other side. “Welcome to the family,” he whispered. Trent just beamed.

***

Trent was a lot quieter compared to Mack and Wes found himself more worried about the kid. He’d met Anton Mercer enough times to know that there was something off about him recently, but he’d heard about the near death experience. That would affect anyone and cause them to be moody and reclusive. Unfortunately, Trent tended to be quiet for no other reason than he thought he was supposed to and it took a lot for Wes to get anything out of him. Eventually, Wes managed to get the story out of what had happened to his birth parents and that the kid liked art. With that little bit of knowledge, Wes was able to work on things from there.

“Why do I have to be here?” Eric grumbled. “You’re the one who wanted to take the kids on the field trip.”

“There’s two now,” Wes answered. “I needed back up.”

“Back up,” Eric said dryly.

“Back up,” Wes said again, giving him a quick kiss.

“Wes! Gross!” Mack complained. He could hear Trent snickering next to the other boy. Wes turned and glared at Mack, knowing full well that Mack didn’t really care and was just being obnoxious.

“Haha. Do you want me to leave you in the lobby?” he asked, folding his arms. Mack rolled his eyes while Trent tried to look like he hadn’t been involved at all. Both of them were trouble.

“We’ll be good,” Trent said sweetly. Trent was worse trouble than Mack. At least Mack wasn’t manipulative in his actions. Wes nodded and looked at Eric with a sigh.

“Brothers.”

“You’re an only child,” Eric reminded him. “You adopted them.”

Wes laughed at that, knowing that Eric wasn’t nearly as put out as he was pretending to be. Mack and Trent had taken to Eric as well to the older man’s slight annoyance. That said, Wes would catch him keeping a closer eye on Trent or sneaking treats to Mack when he thought Wes wasn’t looking. Wes had thought about calling him on it, but he didn’t want to ruin anything.

Wes led the way into the art museum which Trent was soaking up. Mack was hanging back with Eric as this wasn’t really their sort of thing, but Wes was easily keeping up with Trent and showing him different artwork and answering questions when he knew about the artist. He also was perfectly happy to find someone who had answers when he didn’t. Trent started out not asking a lot, but he eventually started asking more when Wes seemed to get more excited when he did. 

When they were finished, Eric handed him some colored pencils, Mack handed him a large notepad, and Wes handed him some graphite pencils. Wes pulled him into a hug and Trent looked at Eric and Mack. Mack was grinning.

“He took me to three huge bookstores and got me a first addition of my favorite book,” Mack said. Eric looked a little uncomfortable.

“Aviary,” he answered. “We have birds.”

Mack leaned into Trent. “They argued over who was paying the whole time,” he whispered. “It was great.”

Trent shared the grin as he just stood back for a minute. Wes looked over to make sure Trent wasn’t overwhelmed, but the smile on his face told Wes everything he needed to know.

***

“Tommy? Tommy, call back. Look it’s Wes. Again. I need you to call back.” Wes tried to ignore the panic in his voice as he spoke. He reached over and squeezed Mack’s shoulder as the teen looked just as frantic. They’d been at it for a couple of days since they’d lost contact with Trent. They knew that Tommy was leading the Power Rangers in Reefside and that he had a better chance of knowing what happened to Trent. Wes did his best to calmly shut the phone off and he didn’t throw it across the room.

“Anything?” Wes looked up to see Eric standing in the doorway. He shook his head and Eric sighed. “Try Trent again. I’ll try Tommy.”

Wes calmed down and nodded, giving him a smile as he tried to call Trent again. “Trent? It’s Wes. We’re worried about you. Call back when you get this.”

As he hung up, he could hear Eric’s version of the message. “Tommy, pick up your damn phone!”

Mack smiled a bit at that and Wes matched it, pulling the boy to him. “We’ll find him,” Wes promised.

“What if Eric kills him for scaring him?” Mack asked and Wes snickered.

“He’s not going to kill him,” Wes assured him. “He’ll just yell at him for a while.”

“And then you’ll yell at him,” Mack said, knowing the two all too well.

“Probably,” Wes admitted. “It’ll be okay.”

Mack just nodded.

***

“We need a better definition of ‘okay’,” Mack informed Wes as they raced toward Reefside. “We should have come earlier.”

“Nothing we could have done,” Eric said, though he didn’t like it either. Wes just gripped the wheel. Mack wondered how in trouble Tommy was from trying to keep them from coming earlier. Judging by Eric’s tone and Wes’ need to break the car, he was guessing a lot.

“I don’t get it,” Mack said, looking upset. “Why wouldn’t he let you come and help?”

“It’s a Ranger thing,” both of them said. Mack rolled his eyes and Wes amended. “A stupid Ranger thing. We’re not the right power set for the monsters.”

“So, you’d be in the way?” Mack asked and Wes nodded.

“That’s the thought,” he agreed.

“We didn’t want to fight,” Eric grumbled. “We wanted to hunt Trent down and knock some sense into him.”

There was silence in the car before Mack spoke up again. “Are you mad at Trent?”

Eric blinked and then shook his head. “No,” he answered. “I’m mad at Tommy.”

“I’m not holding you back,” Wes muttered from his seat and Eric squeezed his hand. 

They stopped in front of the house and got out, Wes quickly stopping Mack from busting in as he quickly knocked. He was hoping that Eric would just set a decent example. He did his best to wait patiently, ignoring the impatient looks on his companions’ faces and trying to tell himself that everything was fine. It wasn’t fine. He wasn’t sure if they’d get back to ‘fine’ anytime soon.

Tommy answered the door and Wes found that even his patience was low. “Hi Tommy. Where is he?”

“He’s downstairs…” Tommy said, glancing at Mack as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he should be letting him in. Wes decided to help with that as he moved past Tommy, hand on Mack’s wrist as he moved downstairs. He was pretty sure that Tommy was saying something, but he wasn’t in the mood to find out what. It was almost empty, the other Rangers having taken off when they entered. He could hear Eric arguing with Tommy, but that wasn’t where he was needed right now.

Trent glanced up at him, a new morpher on his wrist and clear evidence of guilt, pain, and fear. It wasn’t something he’d ever wanted to see on either of his brothers’ faces. He didn’t remember moving, but he found himself holding Trent on the other side of the room. Mack was at their side in a minute, helping as Trent just cried. Wes couldn’t make most of it out, but that was okay. He heard footsteps coming down and saw Eric looked at them. Trent tried to pull himself together and Eric pulled the boy toward him, looking him in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” Trent whispered. Eric nodded.

“You were cursed,” Eric said. “You had no control.”

“I still hurt people,” he said. Eric nodded.

“I know,” he answered. “And it will haunt you.”

Eric gave both Mack and Wes a look and both of them backed up, though they could still hear the conversation. “Is Wes mad at me?” Trent asked. Wes thought his heart was going to break. Trent knew about Eric and him. He didn’t know much, but he knew they were Rangers and he had to know more now. Before he could do anything, he heard Eric.

“No,” he said. “We’re not mad. Look, I don’t understand the rich stuff, but I understand this. You need to talk, you come to me.”

Trent just nodded and Eric squeezed his shoulder and gave him a small smile. He wasn’t as tactile as Wes. All three of them could see that something else was still bothering Trent, but they’d figure it out later. It wasn’t important right now and he’d tell them when he was ready. Mack looked at them and then smiled a bit.

“So, we have two Sixths and one Red?” He asked in amusement. At his contemplative look, Wes glared at him.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said firmly. Eric snorted and Trent tried not to laugh. Mack rolled his eyes.

“Only a matter of time,” he said with a smirk. Wes just groaned. Trent actually smiled from where he was sitting.

“Hopefully, it will be easier for you,” he said honestly and Mack tried to smile back.

“If it’s not,” he said. “I know a big brother I can turn to. Two of them.”

“Your Wes’ brothers,” Eric grumped. Wes laughed and shook his head before turning to the younger two.

“It takes him a while to catch on,” he teased. Eric glared at him as the other two laughed. The atmosphere lightened a bit and Wes made certain to spend the next couple of hours keeping Trent’s mind from thinking about things.

***

Getting Trent calmed down was a lot easier once they were all there to help. They stayed out of the way from the others due to Trent’s request, but Wes and Eric both took some time off from work. Mack wasn’t able to take off that much time from school, but he called often and didn’t let Trent ignore it. Trent tried to be annoyed by the whole thing, but Wes caught him smiling half of the time.

They rented a place nearby and were a little surprised when Trent stayed with them often. Eric looked more upset than Wes over it, but he wouldn’t explain why. Regardless, it didn’t take a genius for them to figure out that something was wrong at home. The problem was figuring out what. Wes had felt stifled and knew that Mack did as well so that was the answer he came to. Eric, however, disagreed.

“What are you hiding?” Eric asked Trent during breakfast. The youngest Ranger paused in what he was doing, but then tried to ignore the question. Wes could have told him that that would never work.

“I’m not,” Trent finally said.

“If you weren’t, you would have answered,” Eric told him. There was silence again between them. “Look, we aren’t going to be mad.”

“It’s not that,” Trent said, staring hard at his cereal. Wes watched him for a minute and added a caveat.

“We won’t be disappointed in you either,” he assured him. Trent looked at him.

“You can’t know that,” he said. Wes grinned.

“Come on,” Wes said. “It’s us.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” he whispered. Eric and Wes shared a look and Eric took back over.

“So it’s a Ranger thing,” he said. “Trust me, I’ve done worse.”

“You don’t even know what I did!” Trent said. Eric snorted.

“I’ve done worse,” he said again. “And Wes is still here.”

Trent looked pensive for a minute, trying to mull over the pros and cons in his head. Wes wished that he’d joined their world earlier so that he’d trust them more, but he just had to convince him now. He made certain to try to look willing and open to helping. Trent looked at them for a minute and then sighed. “It’s about my dad…” He said. Both men nodded once. “Something happened and he isn’t in control of it. Once in a while, he’s my dad, but the rest of the time… he’s… he’s Mesagog.”

There was silence at the table for a minute as they tried to adjust to what he’d said. “Wasn’t expecting that,” Eric said after a minute.

“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t! I can’t let them kill him, but I don’t know what to do! He wanted me to keep it a secret, but the others already don’t trust me and I can’t go home,” he managed to get out before Wes pulled him into another hug. Eric met Trent’s eyes.

“We will fix this,” he said firmly. Trent was surprised to see a lack of betrayal from them both.

“Sometimes parents don’t know what’s best. We can’t help him if we don’t know _to_ help him,” Wes agreed. “We’ll talk to Tommy and make sure nothing happens.”

Trent just looked at them in surprise as Wes stood up. “Where are you going?” He asked quietly.

“Eric and I have to take care of it,” he said. “I’m calling Mack so you have someone with you.”

Trent didn’t bother to insist he would be fine on his own. He started to, but the sharp look Eric shot him stopped him from saying a word. He just nodded as Wes walked out. Eric looked at him. “You’re not alone.”

“I know,” Trent said quietly and Eric grabbed his wrist, matching it to his own so that both morphers touched. Eric didn’t say a word, but waited for Trent to understand. Trent looked and then swallowed. “Okay.”

Eric nodded, patting his shoulder as he followed Wes out. Trent waited in the room, breakfast still in front of him as he tried to process everything that had happened and knew that he’d need time.

***

“…And then he was gone,” Trent said, finishing explaining the story to Mack. Once Wes and Eric had explained things to Spencer, the old butler had made certain to make arrangements for Mack to be there for Trent while Wes and Eric had worked with Tommy and Hayley to find a way to separate Mercer and Mesagog. To Trent’s surprise, there hadn’t been any trouble with his team, but even he knew that that was probably because of Eric. After that, it had been a quick rush to the final battle and the end of Trent’s tenure as a Ranger.

“Wow!” Mack said, looking impressed. Trent enjoyed relating it to Mack since he was a responsive audience and knew the secret without having been a Ranger. Tommy hadn’t been thrilled about that either, but Trent didn’t get in trouble for it. Relations between Tommy and the Time Force Rangers was a lot more rocky recently, but it was starting to fade.

“Yeah,” Trent said with a small smile. “The only bad part was this.”

He held up what looked like a rock, but Mack recognized it right away. “You lost your powers?” He asked. Trent nodded. “Oh.”

“It’s okay,” Trent reassured him. “I’m ready to move on anyway. Dad’s being a lot more supportive, so I’m going to an art college in New York.”

Mack’s smile faded a bit. “Oh.”

“He’ll be back on holidays,” Wes said as he headed in, sitting down next to them. “And he’ll call. Often.”

“He’s an adult, Wes,” Eric gruffed as he followed the other in. He looked over at Trent with a piercing look that both of the teens knew meant that he was expecting those calls regardless of what he said outloud. “And he knows he can come here if he needs to.”

Mack forced a smile toward Trent. “I’ll miss you,” he admitted. “But I’m glad you’re going. I just wish I could go with you. Or with Wes and Eric. Or anywhere.”

Wes put his hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Your dad still isn’t willing to take you, huh?”

“No,” Mack said, pouting. “I know that he’s worried because we already lost Mom, so I tried to be patient. But I’m ready now.”

“He’ll get there,” Trent said with a smile. “Wes and my dad did. Besides, at least this way you can’t touch anything and accidentally go evil.”

Wes sent him a look for that one while Eric just snickered. Trent grinned at the latter. While he still had issues connected to it, Eric had helped him work through a lot of it. The fact that the other had also done some less than savory things and hadn’t been under a spell at the time made it easier for Trent to forgive himself a bit.

Mack shot Trent a similar looked and sighed as Wes wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “We all make our own destiny,” he reminded him. “So, we just need to find out what yours is.”

Mack smiled a bit at that and Wes nodded. “So,” Eric said, changing the subject. “Art college.”

Trent beamed as he began to tell them all about it, not leaving anything he could think of out and letting Mack think about something else than all of the adventures that his father wouldn’t let him go on.

***

Wes was groaning as Trent sat next to him snickering. Trent wished he had popcorn now and ignored the bit of him that wondered if he was still evil for wanting it. He decided that he wasn’t and that Wes was just fun to mess with. Eric headed into the room during the middle of a groan and looked at Trent who was still laughing. “What’s wrong with him?” He asked, looking Trent. Trent motioned to the T.V.

“Andrew Hartford has a new team,” he said in amusement. Eric looked.

“Huh,” he said, not having expected that. Andrew didn’t tend to do things with teams, but rather did them by himself. Of all the people he expected to be a team leader, it wasn’t him. When he looked at the T.V., however, he realized that Trent hadn’t meant that he had an archelogy team. “He’s a mentor?”

“Yep,” Trent said. “Public team. Guess who the Red Ranger is?”

Eric laughed. He ignored that Wes was glaring at him and just laughed. It wasn’t a secret that Wes hadn’t been thrilled about everything that Trent had went through and was hoping that Mack would just have an easy life. Both Trent and Eric knew that wasn’t going to happen, but hadn’t tried to destroy his delusions. “Of course he’s a Red Ranger,” Eric said in amusement and Trent nodded.

“He always did follow Wes,” Trent answered. Eric nodded. Neither were about to mention that they had bonded pretty heavily as sixth Rangers. They needed this time to gang up on and tease Wes. Wes, however, wasn’t paying close attention.

“He hates the idea of Mack being in danger,” Wes muttered, looking at the screen. The other two looked at him. “So, why would he let him be a Power Ranger?”

“Our dads didn’t let us,” Trent reminded him. Wes shook his head.

“Neither of our dads were our mentor,” he said. “Mack’s is which means that Mr. Hartford is able to pick and choose who is on his team.”

Eric folded his arms. “Trent, have Ethan check and see what Hartford’s traveling schedule is like.”

“If he’s a mentor, he’s not going to have one,” Wes said as Trent checked. Eric snorted.

“He’s an adrenaline junky,” Eric answered. “Either he has plans…”

Wes caught on. “Or he was planning on being a Power Ranger.”

Trent hung up the phone. “Pretty sure it’s the second one,” he said. “He has nothing planned for the next year.”

Wes groaned and held his head. Trent winced. Eric rolled his eyes. “I’ll get the car.”

***

Eric had taken the job of talking to Mack’s father. Trent was reassuring Spencer. Wes was sitting at the table where Mack’s team was just looking at the three of them in confusion, listening to Mack retell what had happened, and deciding if he liked this team or not. They were still new, so he knew better than to judge them on that level, but this was his brother’s team. He held them to a higher standard. He almost didn’t noticed Trent taking the seat next to him, but Mack had turned his attention toward the Dino Thunder Ranger.

“So, how long did Wes panic?” Mack asked and Trent snorted.

“You think he’s stopped?” Trent said. Mack laughed. “He caught the fight, tried to pretend like he didn’t know it was you, and groaned at the press conference.”

Mack’s laughter got worse as he looked at Wes. “Eric is right,” he said. “You worry too much.”

“I’ve known you since you were four,” Wes answered, looking a little put out. 

“You’ve known Mack since he was four?” Wes turned and looked at Dax, giving a nod.

“We met at a fundraiser,” Wes answered, not wanting to get into it.

“Oh,” Dax said. 

“I can do this, Wes,” Mack said and Wes calmed down. He knew that Mack had to have been arguing with his father about it. Arguing with Wes was just going to hurt his self-esteem.

“I know you can,” he said, trying to be reassuring. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you anyway. Just like when you showed up after I got hurt.”

“I waited until you got hurt,” Mack answered. “I didn’t show up when I realized it was you.”

“Wait,” Will said to Wes. “You’re a Power Ranger.”

Wes held back the sigh, but had a feeling it would be easier to just explain. “I was Red Time Force,” he answered. They all looked like they had questions, but Wes was saved from having to answer them as Eric and Trent headed in the room. Eric looked at Mack.

“I had a talk with your dad,” he said, leaving it at that. Mack didn’t ask what they talked about, but considering that Eric looked pleased, he had the feeling that it was in his favor which meant that most likely his dad was going to complain even less about him becoming a Power Ranger. At least, he’d complain less to Mack.

“I talked to Spencer,” Trent added. “He’s still worried, but he’ll be okay.”

Mack nodded and gave Trent an appreciative smile. “I take it you guys have to head out?”

All three could hear that Mack wasn’t happy about it, but they all also knew it was important to. If they stayed, Mack wouldn’t try as hard to get to know his team and all three knew that was it was in Mack’s best interest to get to know his teammates without them being there. They’d been more worried than anything else when they found out, but they’d never doubted in Mack’s abilities. “We’ll be back soon,” Trent assured him. Mack nodded and turned back to his teammates as the other three slipped out the door.

***

Trent was the first one through the door. He’d heard from Kira what had happened and that the others had split up. She had a job to do, but she’d mentioned that Mack was probably feeling pretty alone. Trent had thanked her and headed toward Mack before realizing that Wes and Eric would want to know before it hit the T.V. Still, he managed to get there before either of the others. He knew that just like it was for him when he needed Eric, Mack was going to need Wes. It wasn’t like either of the younger two meant to have a favored older Ranger, it’s that Sixth understood Sixth and Red understood Red. Mack needed advice from another Red Ranger, not from a formerly evil sixth.

That didn’t stop him from rushing past Spencer with barely a hello and pulling Mack into the hug that he knew the younger man needed. Wes was way too touchy-feely and had passed that on to Mack. If he hadn’t met other Red Rangers, he would have thought it was just a Red Ranger thing. Conner didn’t hug quite so much as he needed to be close, Wes hugged, and Mack hugged. Maybe it was just the Red Rangers he was friendly with. Right now, what mattered was what Mack wanted. He pulled away and tried to look nonchalant as he glanced at Kira’s new team who had wondered what was going on. Kira was doing her best to convince them that it was fine while giving him an approving smile. As soon as she’d herded them out, Trent looked back at Mack. “So, how are you holding up?”

Mack made sure the others were gone before he answered. “They left,” Mack whispered. “They just… left.”

“Who left?” Trent asked.

“My team,” he answered. “I thought… I thought we were closer than that, but they all went back to their lives.”

Trent blinked and looked surprised at that. He knew that he had a connected team and that Wes and Eric were dating, but he’d also heard stories about how heartbroken Wes had been when his team had left. It had needed to happen. They were from the future, after all, but that hadn’t made it easier to accept for anyone. He didn’t know how to answer that since it hadn’t happened with him. Eric and Wes had made certain that they didn’t blame Trent for everything that had happened and the three younger members of his team had gotten close to him afterward in more than one way. 

“Maybe they’re just trying to adjust,” he said, hoping that was a halfway similar to Wes answer. Mack forced a smile and Trent knew it wasn’t. Still, he’d tried and he was there. “Wes and Eric are on their way.”

Mack looked like he wanted to argue, that he was old enough to handle it on his own, but he didn’t. Trent wasn’t about to accept that and Mack knew he needed them right now. “How’s college?”

“Hard,” Trent said, knowing that he wasn’t going to get more out of Mack right now. “But I’m enjoying it. Dad keeps wanting to see what I’m working on. I think he still feels a little guilty over everything. I tried to tell him it was fine, but it’s Dad.”

“Yeah,” Mack said with a smile. “I think Dad’s kinda the same way right now. He’s not happy about the change, but he’s happy I’m safe.”

Trent nodded. There was silence between them for a minute before Trent spoke up again. “Want to help Taylor and me get Wes and Eric engaged?”

“You guys are trying to get them to what?” Mack asked in amusement. 

“We got tired of waiting,” Trent said. “And they’ll both be less mad at you.”

“And what about you?” Mack asked, folding his arms. “When are you going to get married?”

“I have three lovers,” Trent answered. “We can’t. But we moved in together and Kira picked up some rings. We’ll have a celebration later.”

Mack looked at Trent’s hand and saw the ring shine a bit. “After this is over?” Mack asked hopefully. 

“After you’re done being a Power Ranger,” Trent promised. Mack sighed.

“That might be now,” he said. Trent shook his head.

“It’s not,” he assured him. “Trust me.”

“How do you know?” Mack asked.

“Because it’s happened to other teams,” Trent reminded him. “It happened to Wes.”

Mack paused at that for a minute and then looked a lot more cheerful. “So, we just need to find a way to fix it.”

“And still help the others if you can,” he instructed. “You might not know Thrax, but you do know the others.”

Mack nodded and his head was higher. By the time Wes and Eric arrived, Trent had already solved the problem which meant that they were able to just be emotional support. While Wes congratulated Mack on helping, Trent felt the punch to his shoulder and glanced at Eric who gave him a proud nod. Regardless that he still didn’t think he was the right person to have handled it, he was pleased that he’d done well enough for Eric to be proud of him. Eventually, the Operation Overdrive Rangers returned and the trio of former Rangers took their leave, knowing that Mack had it completely handled.

***

“You died,” Wes said sternly. Sure, Mack was back now, but that didn’t mean that Wes was planning on leaving his side. Eric wasn’t helping him out since Mack had, according to Trent, scared the hell out of him too. Trent was the most easy-going about it because he was back, but Mack still saw the glances over every so often to make sure that Mack was still there. They didn’t know how he was brought back which was a point of contention, but they were happy he was there.

“It’s okay, Wes,” Mack insisted for the eighteenth time. He was hoping that Wes would get past the ‘you were dead’ thing sometime soon, but that didn’t seem to be happening. “The Sentinel Knight brought me back.”

Wes folded his arms. He wanted to believe everything was going to be okay now, but he was more than worried about how long it would last for. There was the possibility that it was temporary. “I’ll feel better after the tests.”

That was the real divide at the moment. Wes wanted him to get checked over by several of the other Rangers to make sure that what had happened to bring him back was permanent while Mack was insistent that he was fine and didn’t need them. Mr. Hartford was on Wes’ side, but Mack was eighteen now so it had to be his choice. Mack could guess however that even if he refused, he wouldn’t really win this. After all, Trent and Eric were also on Wes’ side.

“If I do it,” Mack said. “Will you let it go after that?”

Wes nodded and then pulled Mack to him. Mack hugged him back just as hard. “I thought I lost you.”

Mack just nodded. “I know.” And for a minute, they were back in the hospital with Wes’ dad dying in front of them as Mack remembered just what Wes had been through in the past several years and he wasn’t really asking for much. Mack nodded. “Okay.”

Wes looked relieved and the other two looked approvingly at Mack for agreeing to it. Mack, for his part, did feel better once the results came back in and it was for certain that he was going to be fine. He just didn’t want to admit it and hear the other three say they were right. He didn’t understand that they were too happy he was alive to bother with reminding him of that.

***

“To Trent, Ethan, Conner, and Kira!” Tommy proclaimed as he raised a glass. The room was filled with former Rangers and friends who were in the know. Wes was grinning at his middle brother from the corner with several other Rangers and raised a glass that Trent smiled at. Mack was laughing with his team and the makeshift group of Rangers that had come to help as they cheered on the four and Mack gave Trent a thumbs up. The four Rangers were all smiling and trying not to blush from where they were standing.

Mack wasn’t seen without Dax nearly clinging onto him to Wes’ delight. He was pleased that that relationship was in full swing so that Mack had someone in his life as well. After hearing about Mack’s breakdown when the lot of them had left from Trent, he was glad that they’d managed to work through it. Partially because he didn’t want to have to track any members of Mack’s team down and have Eric scare them into behaving. Eric, for his part, was near some of the others, verbally sparring with Taylor and giving a quick nod to Trent.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Mr. Hartford. “It’s a good party,” Andrew told him and Wes nodded.

“It is,” he agreed.

“I’m not sure I ever did thank you for helping with Mack,” he said. “It’s what he needed.”

Wes gave a soft smile at that. “It’s what I needed too,” he admitted.

Years later, with his life partner nearby, at one surrogate brother’s wedding reception after almost losing his youngest surrogate brother, Wes found himself feeling complete. It’s not what he would have expected when he was twelve years old, but it’s what he had always wanted even if he never realized it. The Power Rangers were his family, but even without that bond, he had two little brothers. And he couldn’t ask for anything else.


End file.
